The Jerusalem Post: A Neo-Nazi touts his movement’s success at a conservative organization gathering

Leader of the Nationalist Network, live-streamed himself and his friends walking through the streets of D.C. before the start of the convention. Sánchez posed with other known white supremacists. 

Hannah Sarisohn
February 28, 2024
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A known Neo-Nazi and white supremacist group leader documented his time at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last weekend and touted the success of the nationalist movement.

Conference speakers included former President Donald Trump, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), and Steve Bannon.

Ryan Sánchez, leader of the Nationalist Network, live-streamed himself and his friends walking through the streets of D.C. before the start of the convention held in the National Harbor in Maryland in a video titled “CPAC HYPE.”

During the livestream, Sánchez referenced “Groypers” arriving in D.C. to attend CPAC.

Who are the Groypers

According to the Anti-Defamation League, Groypers are a loose network of alt-right white supremacists who are generally racist and antisemitic.

“This is the first day of Groyper week here at CPAC. We got groypers from all over the country,” Sánchez said in his livestream. “We got multiple Airbnbs full of Groypers and our Aryan super soldiers. Everyone’s getting ready.”

Someone on the livestream is later heard saying he wanted to visit the Holocaust museum to see what proof they had that the Holocaust was real.

“I don’t think a pile of shoes is enough,” one of Sánchez’s friends says. Sánchez frequently and publicly espouses support for Hitler and Nazi idealism on his social media channels.

Throughout the CPAC convention, Sánchez posed with other known white supremacists. After the conference ended on Monday, Sánchez again took to a livestream titled “Victory at CPAC.”

“Going LIVE to talk about TOTAL NATIONALIST VICTORY at CPAC! White pills for everyone!” Sánchez posted on X.

What are White pills?

White pills is another reference to white supremacist coded language. However, CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp denied that there was a Nazi presence at the conference.

“CPAC has made it clear that we stand with Israel and the Jewish people…and against the hatred of Jews. Our board and international partners unanimously passed a resolution this week reiterating that strong, clear, and unequivocal position,” Schlapp wrote on X. ” We hosted a special event at CPAC in celebration of and solidarity with Israel, and we are leading an ongoing initiative as an organization supporting Israel.”

“When we come across someone at CPAC peddling any kind of antisemitism, we deal with them immediately,” Schlapp added. CPAC didn’t respond to The Post’s inquiry why Sánchez and other people who belong to known antisemitic groups were permitted to attend the conference.

Within the past few weeks alone, Sánchez posted numerous antisemitic photos and statements. On Feb. 20, he posted a picture with the caption, “So many disgusting Untermenschen on my flight to DC. The west has fallen.”

According to the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Untermenschen is a “German word meaning ‘sub-humans,’ used by Nazis to refer to the groups they deemed ‘undesirable.'”

Repeated Antisemitic commentary

“Mayorkas is a perfect example of why you should never trust a Jew to protect your borders,” Sánchez wrote on X in January, referring to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Numerous times, Sánchez has also reposted accounts praising Hitler and the rise of the Nazi party. Sánchez and his organization, Nationalist Network, participate in events with other ADL-designated white supremacists and hate groups.

At the conservative organization Turning Point USA’s fall conference, right-wing leader Charlie Kirk even refused to engage in a Q&A with Sánchez after Sánchez dodged the question if he hated Jews. “I think they have disproportionate influence in American politics,” Sánchez told Kirk.

CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs Amy Spitalnick told The Post it’s horrifying, but not surprising, to see CPAC leadership denying the presence of Neo-Nazism at their events.

Before her role at JCPA, Spitalnick served as Executive Director of Integrity First for America, which won a historic lawsuit against the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and hate groups behind the 2017 Unite the Right violence in Charlottesville.

The recent rise in the normalization of extreme ideas

Over the last six to seven years, there’s been increasing normalization of extremism, Spitalnick said. She said that not just at CPAC, but ideas that were once considered fringe have seemed mainstream across US politics and media.

This year at CPAC, there was explicit discussion and promotion of replacement theory, Spitalnick said.

“We’ve seen an enormous normalization of those ideas, in spaces at CPAC, from elected officials, on social media, from media, pundits and others,” Spitalnick said. “So, at this point, none of us should be surprised that avowed white supremacists and Nazis had a space.”

Spitalnick accused CPAC of conflating its support of Israel with rejecting Neo-Nazisim.

“The criticism isn’t, ‘you’re not good enough at supporting the Israeli government,”’ Spitalnick said. “The criticism is, you are normalizing ideas, leaders, and people that have directly fueled antisemitic, racist, xenophobic, and other attacks here at home that in part have led to the mass murder of Jews and black people, Latinos, and others.”

By seeking to conflate Jews and Israel, CPAC not only deflects from the legitimate concern of Neo-Nazism but directly plays into the dual loyalty tropes and other conspiracies that are underpinning current waves of antisemitism, Spitalnick said. All political organizations need to make it clear that these extremists are not welcome, Spitalnick said.

“This can’t be seen as partisan,” Spitalnick said. “We need to be calling out antisemitism and all forms of hate and extremism wherever they exist, period. And that means calling it out within and outside our parties.”